Kirin and Asha discuss healthcare delivery systems, focusing on managed care – a delivery system in which third party managed care organizations (MCOs) coordinate care for members and the state Medicaid agency pays MCOs rather than paying providers directly.

Kirin and Asha discuss state plans, which are the blueprints for establishing all important details about how a state structures and administers its Medicaid program. We also talk about how state plans can be amended and circumstances under which a state can request permission to "break the rules" using a waiver.

Kirin and Asha talk about how state Medicaid programs are increasingly going beyond providing traditional healthcare services and adding programs and services that improve member health through things like healthy housing, reliable transportation, and nutritious food.

In this module, Kirin and Asha discuss how the federal contribution to Medicaid funding is calculated, how state budgets work, and what policy arguments are made with regard to Medicaid spending and structure.

Kirin and Asha visit a single state in more depth. Part I gives an overview of the Arizona Healthcare Cost Containment System (AHCCCS), including: the history, structure of the agency, its influence on national trends, the benefits provided, costs, and the dual eligible population. In part II, special guest Markay Adams explains how the tribal healthcare system intersects with Medicaid in Arizona.